Attack on Fairy Tales
by Tian Lee
Summary: Oneshots of Fairy Tales with SnK crew for the casting. I will be writing stories like Eren and the Three Bears, Cinderamin, Levilina and Sleeping Annie, etc. etc. I accept requests, so don't hesitate to ask, even if I already wrote story about the particular fairy tale. I can always write other versions, after all.
1. Eren and the Three Bears

**Eren and the Three Bears**

Once upon a time, there was a boy whose name is Eren. He was famous for his ability to make mischief anywhere, out of anything. But he also possessed the love of all nearby neighbors; for he had a set of such beautiful green eyes the people couldn't help but fall in love with the darling little boy. So, you can guess that he was a pretty spoiled child; he always got his way.

One day, while playing with his best friends Armin and Mikasa, Eren eyed the forest which was near his house. The forest was off-limits, told by adults that big, scary bears lived in there and the children would get eaten if they dared to enter. Only Hunters with their big, heavy rifles were allowed to go in, but they always came back empty-handed and the bears were never caught. Eren was suspicious. Why couldn't the Hunters catch the bears with their big, heavy weapons? Why, because there is no bears! That must be it! The Hunters must be having some kind of party in the forest, and they're keeping the kids out because they don't want to share the fun!

"Armin, Mikasa, let's go into the forest!"

Eren pointed toward the big, looming trees, his voice laced with excitement just at the very thought of stepping through the branches, the grass, joining the fun the adults were having.

"But, Eren, it's too dangerous! The adults said that big, scary bears live in the forest! They would eat us alive if we even dared to take a step!"

Armin chirped worriedly, shivering at the notion.

"Yes, Eren, it's too dangerous."

Mikasa agreed. Erenilocks stared at them, disappointed.

"Owww, c'mon, guys! It's all lies; the Hunters never catch the bears! They must be lying to keep us away from the forest. They are having parties and other fun games in the forest and don't want us children to join!"

"B-But…"

Armin looked uncertainly toward the forest. What Eren had said was true; the adults never managed to catch the bears. But what if they weren't lying…? What if there were actually big scary bears in the forest, too dangerous for even the Hunters to kill it?

"If you guys aren't going with me, I'm going there by myself."

Eren announced, and began sprinting off into the edge of the woods. Mikasa, without any hesitation or whatnot, immediately began following him, while Armin tittered nervously on his toes, looking towards the village and the forest. After a minute, Armin finally managed to make up his minds and began running.

* * *

><p>"There's nothing, nothing but big, huge trees for the miles, oh miles around! There are no big, scary bears, nothing that can harm me, and I will have some fun!"<p>

Eren sang giddily as he got closer and closer to the heart of the forest, with Mikasa following him closely. He was having the time of his life; he swung from the tree branches, he splashed in the babbling brooks, and he frightened a cove of birds from a bush. He popped wild, juicy strawberries and blueberries into his mouth and caught bugs he had never seen before in his little palm. However, despite the jolly time he was having, Eren couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. There were no bears anywhere just as he thought, but there wasn't anything else exciting in there either; there was no parties, no games, no feast Eren firmly believed the adults were having without him! Oh, what a bore! Just as Eren was about to give up his little search for fun and go back to the village, he spotted a house, cleverly hidden into the leaves and the grass but not cleverly enough to escape Eren keen, curious eyes.

"Aha!" Eren cried out triumphantly.

"I knew the adults were hiding something! See, Mikasa? See? There's a house! In the forest!"

Whooping with joy and excitement, Eren ran towards the little house, pushing the door open. However, the little Eren discovered that much to his dismay, the door was locked, and all the windows, too.

"Get out of the way, Eren."

Mikasa quietly instructed the green-eyed boy and began pumping her arms, getting ready to break down the door. Eren, realizing what Mikasa was about to do, grinned widely and stood a safe distance away, clapping his hands with delight when Mikasa's iron fist punched right through the door and slammed it open.

"Yes! Thanks, Mikasa!"

Eren ran inside the house and began exploring immediately. However, he discovered that much to his disappointment, the house was just like any other house in the village, except for the amazing cleanness. The floor was sparkling save for the spots where Eren's mud footprints were imprinted, and the fireplace in the living room was scraped clean with no ashes nor grimes stuck on them. And the kitchen…had not one, not two, but THREE pots of…stew! Three pots of amazing, delicious, steaming hot stew! Stew with beef, potatoes, onions, and other spices! The soft, seductive aroma of the stew gently, teasingly tickled Eren's nostrils, until, not able to win out the temptation, the green-eyed boy dragged himself to the table and began tasting the stew one by one.

"Uh-too hot!"

Eren cried out it pain as the boiling hot stew touched his tongue. Cooling his burning throat with water, he went to the next stew, cautiously dipping his spoon into the creamy liquid.

"Hm….better, but still too hot!"

He announced, and then moved onto the last one. By the time Eren was dipping his spoon into the third stew, Mikasa had caught up to him.

"Eren, what are you doing? Don't eat the stew! It might have poison in it!"

Mikasa chastised, horrified, but Eren paid no mind, dumping the spoonful of stew into his mouth.

"Mmmm…perfect!"

He declared giddily, once again dipping his spoon into the stew.

"This stuff is good, Mikasa! Something this good can't possibly be poisonous. And even if it was, it's good enough that I can happily die to eat it!"

His spoon was dunked into the stew once, twice, three times, and soon it was scraping the bottom of the bowl. Eren licked up the last droplets of the stew, groaning with disappointment when he finally realized that there was no more.

"Owww…Harrumph!"

Eren yawned widely; his beautiful sea-green eyes blinking slowly as sudden sleepiness came over him.

"Mikasa, I'm tired…I wanna sleep…"

Eren complained, and then tottered over to the door that connected into the bedroom. There were three beds in the room. Eren climbed up the first one, but it was too high. When the tried the second one, it was smaller than the first one but still too high. When he tried the last bed, he found that it was perfect for him. Sighing in relief, Eren burrowed into the sheets and drifted off to sleep. Mikasa, who followed Eren into the room, decided that she, too, was tired, and she went over to snuggle up next to Eren and closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>Levi was in a very, very, very bad mood.<p>

He had went out for his daily scouting around the edges of the forest with his comrades Hanji and Erwin, and Hanji thought that it would be funny if she 'accidently' pushed him into a river, when she knew the fact that Levi couldn't sleep very well. Then, he came home, which he shared with the S***ty Glasses and Eyebrows, and discovered that his perfectly clean house had been ruined with mud footprints all over the floor, his bowl of stew that Erwin had earlier made for dinner before they left had been eaten. He would have thought that Hanji had pulled a trick on him if there wasn't a _brat_ sleeping in his bed.

Well, two brats actually, but only one of them had mud on their feet and soup mustache around their lips.

"You snarky brat…"

Levi picked up the nasty, thief boy by his collar, shaking him awake. The boy startled himself into awakening, widening his beautiful turquoise eyes and screaming,

"AHHHH! BEARS! BEARS!"

The boy kicked and screamed, struggling so bad that Levi was forced to drop him onto the floor. As soon as the brat hit the ground, he scrambled to stand and ran over to the bed, shaking the other brat awake.

"Mikasa! Mikasa! Wake up! There's a bear…!"

"I'm not a bear, you stupid brat!"

Levi roared, his annoyance gage reaching the highest point. The boy nearly jumped out of his skin, and then sheepishly turned around.

"Oh…sorry…I was dreaming about the bears and you woke me up…and I thought you were a bear for a sec. But bears can't speak, can they?"

"No, they f***ing can't. And you should know that you kids are not allowed to enter the forest, isn't that so?"

"Um…yes…but…"

Eren mumbled, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to another. If it was any other adult, he would have retorted back or replied with sarcasm, but there was a certain aurora to this man that made Erenilocks certain that he would die if he disobeyed.

"Eren…What's the matter…?"

Right at that exact moment, Mikasa rubbed her eyes and awakened. Erenilocks, bursting with relief, hugged her fiercely, just thankful that there was a person who could help him there.

"Mikasa…um…well…"

"Explain to me why you two brats have trespassed into my house, eaten my bowl of stew, and sleeping in my bed."

Levi stared at them coldly, his grey eyes glinting dangerously with anger and annoyance. Eren cowered in fear; however, Mikasa stood defiant, meeting Levi's sharp gaze with a look full of determination.

"I'm sorry that we have used your properties and eaten your stew without your permission, sir. And I'm also sorry that we have entered the forest when we were forbidden to."

Surprisingly, the words that left her lips were an apology. Levi raised an eyebrow, softening his mind a bit. But her next words made it immediately scowl.

"But we were curious. Why do the Hunters always go in to the forest they forbade the children to go into so strictly, but always come back with nothing? It must be because there are no bears at all, isn't it? The adults must be having some kind of secret in the forest, and we wanted to join. And we have found that it was true by discovering this cabin."

"You are right." Levi calmly replied back.

"There are no bears."

"There aren't?" Eren exclaimed in surprise.

"No."

"but…then…"

"There are only three bears. But that may as well as count as thirty. Actually, even if three hundred bears attacked that three bears, the bears would still kill them all and feast on the carcass."

"Really?! It's that dangerous? How big are they?"

"Levi~ Who are you talking to? Why is the house such a mess? And-oh, who are those kids?"

Erwin, who had been cleaning up the dirty house and had eaten his share of dinner, entered the room, wondering what Levi was doing and why he was taking so long.

"Erwin, these brats are the kids who had broken the rule and entered the forest, broke down our door, ate my stew, and slept in my bed. Where's Hanji?"

" Hanji ate her stew and decided to go out for a bit longer. And now, why would you do that, kids?"

Erwin gently knelt down until he was eye-to-eye level with the children. He smiled comfortingly, and Eren, not less frightened and coming back to his old temper, began spewing out words.

"WellwewereplayingneartheforestandIwaswonderingwhytheHuntersalwayswentintotheforestbutnowtheynevercameoutwithanythingintherehandsoIfiguredthattheymustbehavingsomethingsecretandfunintheresoIwentinandexploredandfoundthiscabindandIwashungryandcurioussoMikasa-she'smyfriendrightthere-brokedownthedoorandIatethestewthenIwastiredsoIdecidedtostleepandthatmidgetcameinandshookmeawakeandherewearenow."

"We were curious about the forest and wanted to explore, then Eren found the cabin and decided to enter. And he loves stew so he couldn't resist but to eat it, then we got tired so we decided to sleep."

Mikasa succinctly explained Erenilock's incoherent speech.

"Oh, okay. Now I know why you are here, would you guys introduce yourselves? I'm Erwin."

"I'm Eren, and she's Mikasa. Is the bear as big as you?"

"What?"

Eren's ears became bright red with embarrassment as he realized that he had just blurted out a question with no explanation.

"Well, when you came in, the man over there was telling us about how dangerous and how big the bear was, and I was curious about exactly how big it was, and I saw that you were really big…"

"Hm…" Erwin tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Yes, the bear would be about as big as me. Maybe even bigger."

"Even bigger?! Then would be as big as this room? This house? Maybe-"

"Erwin, the sun's setting." Levi cut in the flow of excited Eren's questions, pointing his chin towards the dusk. He licked his lips casually, maybe because his lips were dry, but also maybe because he was hungry. For whatever reason, that quick flick of tongue gave Eren chills and suddenly, he didn't want to be here anymore.

"The sun's setting…alright, kids, it was nice meeting you all, but it's getting dark and your parents would be getting worried. Let's go home, shall we?"

"Y-Yes, sir." Eren nodded, and was ushered to the door by Erwin. Levi's grey eyes bore down to his head, and Erenilocks was very glad that he was out of the house. Erwin escorted them to the border of the forest.

"Mr. Erwin, why don't you come with us?" Mikasa asked.

"Oh, I would love to, dear, but I have to stay in the forest. Somebody has to stay and watch out for the three, big, scary bears, you know? Now, just follow down this path and you'll see the village."

"Thank you, sir."

Eren and Mikasa waved their good-byes and walked down the path Erwin had pointed to, where they soon met Armin with Mr. Hannes, one of the Hunters who resided in Erenilocks' village.

"Armin!" Eren called out in delight. He waved his hand frantically in the air until he caught his blond friend's attention, who rushed over to him.

"Eren! Are you alright? Mikasa, are you harmed? Mr. Hannes and I searched for you for the whole day but couldn't find you! Where were you?"

"Yes, where were you two kids? And I told you guys that the forest was off-limits! The bears could have gotten you! Thanks goodness that you came out before it was dark, or you would have been killed for sure!"

"Oww, don't be so nervous, Mr. Hannes!" Eren laughed mischieviously, delighted.

"Nothing happened! We found a cabin in the forest and slept there for a bit, that's all. A nice adult called Mr. Erwin, who was the owner of the cabin with another man, took us back!"

"Mr. Erwin?"

"Yes, Mr. Erwin! Don't you know him? He's really tall with blonde hair and muscles…I thought he was one of the Hunters! He told me that he stays in the cabin to watch out for the three big, scary bears in the forest!"

"Eren," Mr. Hanne called quietly,

"There is no scouting Hunters in the forest right now. And there is no such man called Mr. Erwin."

* * *

><p>Levi sat, perched up on his tree, watching silently as the sun's last rays disappeared over the horizon.<p>

"Next time he enters the forest, he's mine, Erwin."

"Of course, Levi. He had been warned. Anybody who is foolish enough to ignore that warning does not deserve to live."

"He's mine."

Levi slowly licked his lips. He was sure that the Eren boy would come back. Oh, such one filled with curiosity and arrogance will not resist his pull to the forest. And Levi will eagerly wait for the moment when Eren enters the threshold and Levi is allowed to sink his fangs into the soft, white flesh.

The sun set. The moon rose.

The small man's body began to shudder and tremble, his hands and spine rapidly being covered with fur, and his neat, clean teeth sprouted into savage fangs. His grey eyes became metallic and narrow, and a malicious howl tore his throat, and now, where the man had stood, only a bear stood in his place, hungry, ready to hunt.

"Oh my, it's going to be a long night." Erwin sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed it! And no, I'm not going to continue this one, cause it's a oneshot, feel free to make up your own endings! I was originally going to name Eren Erenilocks (Goldilocks, Erenilocks, got it? Hahaha) but then decided against it. You can see my typos in the story...which I'll fix later. I was also originally going to make Levi take Eren and Mikasa back and on the way they meet the bears, and Levi kills it but Eren still gets scared out of his pants and he's a good kid afterward, but I decided that the Werebear idea was for reading, please review for Levi the Bear will come and get you!**


	2. The Horse Prince

**The Horse Prince**

One fine evening, a princess whose name was Marcolena was playing near the stable with her golden ball. She threw it high, she threw it low, she threw it near, and she threw it far. Once, she threw it too high and too far, and the beautiful golden ball rolled into the stable, out of the princess' reach. She began to cry, and said,

"Alas! If I could only get my ball again, I would give all my fine clothes and jewels, and everything that I have in the world."

Then, a dirty, ragged horse with its fur matted with filth stuck its head outside the door of the stable.

"Princess, why are you crying so bitterly?" The horse asked.

"Oh!" Marcolena exclaimed, "Please help me, dear horse sir! My golden ball has rolled into your stable, and I am unable to get it."

"I do not want fine pearls, money, fine clothes or food, but if you love me, and let me live with you, eat from your golden plate, to sleep on your fine bed, I will bring the ball back to you

'What nonsense,' the princess thought, 'The horse can speak and I must be losing my mind. But oh, no matter. I will get back my ball and that's all that matters.'

"Oh! I will do all those things, I will love you, let you live with me, eat from my golden plate, and sleep on my fine bed if you bring me back my beautiful golden ball." The princess promised, extending her hands toward the stable door. The horse's head disappeared back into the stable, and after a moment or two, with much racket and noises coming out of the stable, the horse reappeared, with the golden ball in his mouth.

"Here you go," The horse said, "Now keep your promise."

Normally, if any other princess was in Marcolena's place, the princess would have just taken the ball straight out of the horse's mouth and run back to her palace, ignoring the promise she had made. But Marcolena was a very kind and honest princess, good to the core, and she always kept her promises. So, this is what she said:

"Of course, dear horse sir! Thank you so much for getting my golden ball! I will lead to you the palace immediately and explain to my mother, the Queen, and my father, the King, about the promise I made. I'll order the servants and the maids to comb your hair, polish your mane, and to shine your hooves! Your tongue will only taste the food from my golden plate and the drink from my golden cup. You will rest your tired body on my fine bed and you'll live with me from now on. So come, dear horse sir, follow me to the palace."

Marcolena unlocked the stable door and led the horse out, gently patting its mane, mindless of the filth that covered it. With her golden ball in one hand and patting the horse with the other, she slowly walked back to the palace, talking and laughing with the horse all the way.

"So, say sir, what is your name?"

"My name is Jean."

"Jean? That's a nice name. My name is Marcolena. But my friends say Marcolena is too mouthful so they just call me Marco too. You're welcome to call me Marco too, Sir Jean!"

"It's just Jean. Can you scratch that one spot on my back again? It's really itchy and I can't get it."

"Oh, of course, Jean. Here?"

"Uh-huh. Yes, right there. No, a bit too the left, yes, perfect. Ahhh…it feels so good…"

"I'm glad that you think so, Jean. Ah, we have arrived to the palace. Open the door, guards!"

The big, magnificent doors of the palace slowly opened, and as soon as Marcolena and Jean the Horse stepped inside, they were flooded with maids, servants, and butlers.

"Oh, there have you been, Princess Marcolena? We've been worried sick!"

"What this this….eh, handsome stallion beside you, Princess Marcolena? He's filthy; I will prepare a bath for him immediately."

"Oh, your dress is filthy and you are an absolute disaster! I will prepare a bath for you, Princess."

"All is good and well, there is nothing to be worried about." Princess Marcolena calmly assured her servants.

"Yes, I would love to have a bath and prepare one for Jean too, but before that I must speak with Mother and Father. Where are they?"

"In the throne room, Princess. They've been worried sick about you."

"Alas, I am so sorry! I will visit them immediately. Please notify them that I am here and would like to talk to them, as soon as possible."

"Yes, Princess. But that is unneeded. The King and the Queen has requested for you to come to them as soon as you arrived."

"Ah. Wonderful. Let's go, then."

The horse and the princess walked down the long hallway, with servants hurrying behind them, busily wiping and cleaning the dirty footprints Jean left behind him as he trotted. The princess was not hesitant to point out interesting things in the palace as they walked, explaining everything with great knowledge and pride.

"That is the picture of my great-great-great grandfather King Pixis the First. It is said that he was a great playboy and made many women cry. It is rumored that he died because all the abandoned women became angry at him and assassinated him. And that picture over there is of my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother Queen Rico. She led many great battles in war and won every single one of them. And this is the picture of my mother. Queen Mina. She used to be a commoner, you know? But my father-he's the one on the wall right there-King Thomas the Second fell in love with her beauty. He greatly adores me too. He says that I got my mother's beautiful black hair and freckles."

"You certainly are beautiful."

"Why, thank you. And I think you're very handsome for a horse, too."

"Thanks."

Soon, they arrived to the pair of great, big wooden doors, not unlike the gate but smaller and fancier. The rim of the door was painted with gold, and the intricate carvings and patterns on the door was covered with silver. The door was made of golden oak, polished fine.

"Mother, Father, I'm going in," Princess Marcolena called out, wait a moment or two for the answer.

"Enter." The King's voice boomed from within, and the guards pushed the giant door open, which swung open silently thanks to its well-oiled hinges.

"Oh, Marcolena dear, where were you? You're an absolute disaster! Your dress is filthy and your hair is as messy as a bird's nest, and what is that poor excuse of a horse next to you?" The Queen, cried out in horror at Marcolena, eyeing her with shock. She was a petite woman, with Marcolena's fine black hair tied into two ponytails and slight burst of freckles across her face and cheeks. The King, sitting next to the Queen, had light blond hair with goatee, a heavy crown weighing down his head.

"Yes, dear, where were you? We sent out guards to find you but you weren't anywhere." The King chided more gently, shaking his head.

"Well, Father, Mother," Marcolena began,

"I was playing with my golden ball near the stables, and then I threw it too high and too far so it rolled into the stable. When I was weeping bitterly because I had loved that ball but I lost it, this handsome horse-his name is Jean-stuck is head outside the window and offered to get the ball back for me. I promised that I would live with him, let him eat from my golden plate and sleep on my fine bed, and that I would love him, so I needed to keep my promise. I hope you understand, Father. You were the one who told me that promises must be kept with your life, after all."

"Yes, I have indeed taught you so, and I am glad that you are following your promise." The King sighed. "However, such a commoner as a horse must not be allowed to stay near a princess."

"But, Father-"

"So, I hereby announced that I crown the horse Jean as the first Horse Prince, thus allowing him to stay by the princess."

"Oh, thank you Father, thank you!"

"Prepare baths for the Princess and the Horse. Make sure the horse-was his name John or Jean?-is fine as a stallion when I get back to take a look at him."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The maids chorused together and scurried to their work, and the sentries guide the horse to groom his fur and polish his hooves, and do their best to make the dirty, ragged horse look like a fine stallion. And when Jean was washed and brushed, indeed like a fine stallion he did look, and the princess gently kissed his snout and told him what a fine horse he was. So, the Princess and the Horse Prince Jean lived happily ever after.

* * *

><p>What? Why are you looking at me like that? What, did you expect the horse Jean to turn into a handsome prince when the Princess kissed him? Things like that are impossible and only happen in fairy tales. Huh? What, are you telling me that Horse speaking Human language is also impossible and this is a fairy tale? Well, then, this is an alternate ending.<p>

* * *

><p>"Yes, Your Majesty." The maids chorused together and scurried to their work, and the sentries guide the horse to groom his fur and polish his hooves, and do their best to make the dirty, ragged horse look like a fine stallion. And when Jean was washed and brushed, indeed like a fine stallion he did look, and the princess gently kissed his snout and told him what a fine horse he was. Then, with <em>poof<em> and magical mist surrounded the princess and the horse, and when the mist was cleared, the Princess has turned into a female horse. From that day on, Marcolena and Jean lived happily ever after with clusters of ponies as their babies and the kingdom has been ruled by horses ever since.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey There! Tian Lee here, reporting! While writing the last chapter, the Eren and the Three Bears, I realized I could just write a whole novel about it, like the bear stew Eren ate affected Eren in some way, and Levi is responsible, etc,etc. But I decided to just write the Horse Prince instead. Isn't Jean like, perfect for this one? Sorry if this one was boring, I was...low on creativity juice. Thanks for reading, please review or Jean the Horse is going to...um going to...going to trample you over! Aha!**


	3. The Little Match Boy

**The Little Match Boy**

It was a dark, freezing night, and indeed freezing it was; the wind howled and clawed at the skies, and the air was filled with tiny, misty fogs that escaped from people's lips that were scurrying in the streets, hurrying to escape the cold. However, despite the cold, the streets were decorated with red, green, and blue lights, sparkling to their fullest in the frosty night air. Soft snow was falling, settling onto the sidewalks, the roofs, the people-and in the midst of them all, was a little match boy, shuddering horribly in the harsh biting weather. He only had hole-ridden pants and the thinnest pants on-his feet were bare, for his left shoe was nowhere to be seen, and a girl had stolen his other shoe, thinking to sell it for a few pennies in the thrift market. He couldn't blame her; she did only to live, just like he sold matches to live, after all. In his hands was the tiny handful of matches, matches he had brought out earlier that day to sell, but the matches he had sold none. He had begged; he had cried; he had pleaded, for anybody to buy his matches, for anybody to give him a penny. But no, nobody has even glanced at him, too busy with their lives to look into others.

"Fuck…" The match boy muttered, plopping down into the middle of the street. He had no strength to walk anymore. He had eaten nothing from morning, and from yesterday too, and the day before.

"The old man Kenny's going to beat me up for getting no money again…"

He shivered, a snowflake landed on his raven-black hair, then his arm, then his feet, and soon everywhere on him. He could hear a faint Christmas song somewhere far away; the marry laugh of children in their warm, toasty houses with table full of delicious food, opening presents under the trees. The fireplace would be cracking and popping with heat, the children would clap their hands with delight with every present opened, and the decorations on the trees would sparkle beautifully, lighting up the whole house. He could imagine it so clearly; as if he was right there, as if he was one of the children, the children who were around his age yet in such a different world.

"Yeah, today's Christmas…" Another snowflake landed on his nose. He blew it away, but another one landed as soon as it disappeared.

"How come there's nobody who's willing to show some mercy to me today? Are they so busy with their lives so they don't even have a few seconds to donate a few pennies to a poor boy? And besides…" The Match Boy pulled his legs near his chest, burying his head in his knees.

"Today's my freaking birthday…" A drop of tear rolled down his face, then froze almost immediately. The Match Boy harshly wiped it away, yet more tears flowed down his pale, frozen cheeks.

"Ow…get a grip on yourself…Crying solves nothing…"

The tiny body shook terribly with cold and sobs. More snowflakes landed on him, dusting his beautiful black hair with vividly contrasting white. It was beautiful, but he never had seen himself, and he couldn't have cared less. He had barely survived until now; and he was hungry, cold, and miserable. After a few minutes, the tear finally dried, and the Match Boy looked up, staring up into the black night sky with dots of falling whiteness, but also full with golden diamonds that was always out of his reach. A flash of gold streaked through the sky; a falling star.

"I guess somebody died today…" The Match Boy whispered, remembering a story told to him by his mother before she died.

"Stars fall when a person dies, Levi," She had said, "For every star on sky represents a life, and as the life diminishes, the star falls along with it. The star is your soul, and as you die, the star will fall to the heaven."

"Am I going to see your star when you die, Mother?" Levi asked.

"Of course dear, I won't leave until you see me."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Few nights later, his mother was stricken sick with a sickness that was going around the village and died. Levi had stayed outside the whole night, to see his mother's star fall to the sky, but much to the heaven's cruelty, the night was foggy and there were no stars to be seen at all. The next day, Levi was sent to his supposedly 'father' who was a drunkard and beat him up every day.

"Why did you lie to me, Mother?" Levi wondered aloud.

"You told me that you won't go until I saw you go…yet you went anyway."

His shivering became more violent; his teeth knocked against each other with so much force it hurt. His fingers, still tightly clutching the matches, were blue and red, and he felt like every inch of his body was covered with snow.

"I don't care if the old man is going to beat me to death or not." Levi muttered.

"Dying of coldness and dying of beating, I die of them both anyway."

Levi slowly unclamped his fingers and pulled out a match and struck it alight. The little flame danced and wavered in the cold wind, yet it was better than a house of fire to Levi. He wrapped his tiny body around the weak flame, warming himself as best as he could with the little fire. Then, the most amazing happened; he was standing in a warm, magnificent room just like he had imagined. The fire was cackling heartily in the fireplace, the tables were laden with roasted turkeys and sweet puddings, and in the middle of the room, there was as big, beautiful tree decorated with candles, bells, ribbons with a big star on top! And under the beautiful tree was a mountain of presents, all addressed to Levi. And better yet, next to the tree, was his dead mother, rocking in her favorite rocking chair, smiling her golden smile, her lap open for Levi to climb onto her, just like he did when he was younger.

"Mother!" Levi cried out. His clothes were now changed into fine velvet and warm woolen coat, with a dandy pair of shoes protecting his feet, but in his left hand he still held his burning match and in his right he held the remaining ones.

"I told you I wouldn't go without you seeing me, my dear baby." His mother cooed, opening her arms wide for Levi to run into her. Levi ran to her, but in his haste, the burning match slipped out of his hand, and it fell to the floor, and as the fire was extinguished, the room, the tree, and his mother disappeared, leaving Levi back to his rags in the cold Christmas night.

"No, no, no, no," Levi cried out desperately, and he immediately struck another match, but it broke off in his hands, useless and weak. He struck one, he struck two, he struck three; until all his matches were gone and burnt. In his hand lay a final match, and at last the match caught on fire, and as the match blazed, the room reappeared, with his mother, and the match burning fast, giving the Match Boy a precious few seconds.

"Mother, take me with you!" Levi begged.

"You'll be gone when this last match burns. You'll vanish like a match in a storm, and this room will disappear along with you too. Oh, please take me with you; I am cold, hungry, and miserable in this world. Let me go with you, please!"

"My dear," His mother gently ran her hand through the boy's hair, kissing his forehead gently.

"I would love for you to come with me."

"Then take me!"

"But it is not your time yet for your star to fall. Please bear a bit longer, child, and always remember that I love you."

"But, Mother-" The last remnant of the match burned out in the Match Boy's palm, and the whole room fell into darkness, swirling into the deep abyss of sleep.

* * *

><p>"Erwin, look!" A glass-wearing woman dressed in warm furry coat pointed at a little snow mound in the middle of the street, gently elbowing her blond-haired companion. She hurriedly walked forward and dusted the mound, which revealed a weak, skinny boy with beautiful black raven hair clutching a handful of burnt and broken matches in his hands.<p>

"Poor boy, he must have died while trying to thaw himself with the matches!"

"No, Hanji, he's still breathing! Very weakly, but still breathing!" Erwin gently scooped up the boy and cradled him in his arms, covering the frozen boy with his coat.

"Wait, are you going to take him with you?"

"Why not? I can't just ignore a boy who's about to die in middle of a street. Besides," Erwin gently looked at the beautiful raven-haired boy and softly caressed the boy's cheek and added,

"Today's Christmas, after all. Why not show some mercy?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, sorry to the people who entered this story expecting a funny, humorous and crappy story as usual-but I wrote a sad-happy fic instead. I know it's boring and worthless, but...well, I like it and that's that. And to the guest reviewer who commented about all my stories being a novel each, I totally agree with you. I got ideas to actually do that later if I have time. Such as, the Eren and the Three Bears, Eren gets supernaturally strong and goes to Levi to ask why, etc. And for this story, I can just unravel a bunch of stories about Levi's life with Erwin and Hanji and the old man Kenny stirs up some problems. Well, I'll stop babbling and thanks for reading! Please review, they are greatly appreciated! Love you all!**

**P.S. Sorry that Levi's OOC**


	4. Sleeping Annie

**Sleeping Annie**

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess whose name was Annie. She was very beautiful, with her golden, sun-kissed hair and her sky-blue eyes. However, she had one fault, and that was that she was lazy. Way too lazy. She hated to get out of her bed, so she ate in her bed, studied in her bed, and the only time she got out was when she had the nature's call. Her favorite activity to do was sleeping, taking about ten naps a day. But nobody cared. She was the princess, after all. She could do anything she wanted to do, and that included nothing. So one year passed, two, three, until she reached 16 and it was time for her to marry a 'handsome' prince. But to marry a prince, she'll have to meet a prince, and to meet a prince, she'll have to hold parties, balls, or meetings! But no, Annie was way too lazy for that kind of things. She would rather be single all her life rather than getting out of her bed!

"Oh, but Princess, you have to marry, for if you don't, there will be no child to carry on the throne after you!" The King Erwin chastised, with Queen Hanji firmly nodding her head besides him.

"I don't care." Annie snapped, snuggling deeply into her covers.

"Either get the princes to come to my bed until I find the right one or leave me to be."

"Oh…what should I do?" King cried in distressed, shaking his head solemnly. Then, his eyes snapped open, brightly twinkling with wisdom.

"That's it! Oh, Queen, I have thought of a plan!"

"What is it, my dear?" The Queen questioned, and the King grinned widely with delight.

"If our dear Annie doesn't get out of the bed, make the princes come to her instead! Spread a rumor that Annie has been cursed and has been forced to sleep by an evil fairy. A true love's kiss will awaken her and the prince who awakens her will get to marry her and carry on my kingdom. Isn't that pure genius?"

"Oh, yes it is, my sir! It is pure genius! Hurry; call the servants and spread the rumor, make sure that it spreads far and wide. Make the announcement that the prince who awakens our daughter will get to marry her. And tell Annie the news; hurry, hurry!"

The orders were made, the rumor was spread, and the King called upon the princes from across the country, promising the kingdom and the princess to whoever awakens her with a kiss. The Queen ran to her daughter's room, to instruct her on what to you.

"Oh, my dear, my dear, the King has thought of a way for you to meet the princes without you having to move from your bed!" The Queen joyously told Annie, who sat up straight in her bed, listening with full attention.

"All you have to do is wait until the princes come to your room, and open your eyes to see if they're to your liking, and if they are not, just tell them off! Isn't that wonderful, dear?"

"Oh, yes it is! Yes it is, mother! That way I don't have to get out of my bed to meet the princes!" Annie cried with joy.

"Now let me get back to my bed. I am quite tired and sleepy; this talk has worn me out. Let me sleep until the princes arrive."

**Prince Number One: Prince Jean from the Horsedom**

Prince Jean was a prince of high self-esteem and pride. He considered himself quite handsome and able, and he was sure that he would be the one who wakes up the beautiful princess. He entered the room, and slowly talked toward the bed which the princess was laid, observing her with his kin eyes. She was indeed beautiful; her hair was as golden as the sun, yet her skin was as pale as snow, and he was just sure that the bluest pair of eyes he ever saw will show themselves when he kissed her. With a thudding heart, he slowly bent down, nearing his lips to the princess'. Aha, there it was, he thought, the pair of the bluest eyes he ever-wait, but he didn't even kiss her yet!

"Back off, Horseface." The princess growled, and punched the Prince in the face.

"I don't marry horses."

That day, the prince returned with a broken heart and shattered self-esteem, weeping bitterly. Huh, so that one didn't end so well…

**Prince Number Two: Prince Eren from Titanville**

Prince Eren was quite a handsome prince, with his chocolately locks of hair and a pair of sea-green eyes. He was quite disinterested in woman, though, and only left the journey to the princess' chamber due to his mother, Queen Carla, insisting that he needed a bride and will someday meet his true love, and who knows if the Sleeping Beauty will be the one. He had heard that his enemy, Jean, had tried kissing the princess and returned with a broken heart. Maybe she won't be so bad, who knows. Whoever sees that Jean is a horseface is an okay person.

He knocked on the door three times and cautiously opened the door, grunting as the heavy wooden door slowly shifted under his push.

"Excuse me," He muttered. He walked to the bed in the middle of the room, and observed the princess. He could swear that for a moment he saw the princess' eyes flicker open, but it was so quick that it could have been a trick of his eye. He somewhat dubiously kept watching the princess, than after a few seconds, he turned back.

"Nope, she's not my type."

**Prince Number Three: Prince Levi from Shortasus**

A handsome prince who is good at everything, with handsome face and rich background. That's what every princess dreams of, right? Well, Levi was that prince. He was perfect…except for his height. His height was actually quite normal for his country, Shortasus, but…not for the whole world, apparently.

"She better be worth my time, King What's-Your-Name. Or was it King Eyebrows?" The Prince snapped, eyeing the room. Oh yes, have I failed to mention that he also had quite a mean temper? If I didn't, I apologize. Prince Levi had a very nasty tempter, he was mean and disrespectful to everybody, and that included the King.

"Well, I am sure hoping that it wouldn't be." King Erwin drily replied, sending the prince off with a wave of his hand. Prince Levi rolled his eyes and went to the princess' room, eyeing the clean state of the room and nodding approvingly. And no, the princess was nowhere near his mind. He immediately walked out of the room.

"Hey King Erwin, do you know who's in charge of cleaning the princess' room?" He asked.

"Yes, it's cleaned by a maid whose name is Petra…why?" the King replied, puzzled.

"I want her for my bride. A person who can clean so well is certainly worthy of me."

So the Prince Levi married the maid Petra and they lived happily ever after.

**Prince Number Four: Prince Berthold from Longlegs Kingdom**

Prince Berthold from the Longlegs Kingdom was sure tall. If a bit exaggerated, he could be said to be double the Princess Annie's height, which was actually quite small. He was also very popular for his kindness and gentle words. Yes, the total opposite of the Prince Levi from the previous. But, just like everybody else, he had a flaw. He was way too nervous.

"E-E-Excuse me..." Prince Berthold cautiously opened the door, peeking into the room. He wasn't even near the princess but he was already sweating so much, it was miracle that he wasn't leaving stains on the velvet carpet. He slowly neared the bed which the princess lay upon, as if he was a rabbit entering a lion's, or in this case, lioness' den.

"E-E-Excuse me…" He murmured again as he cautiously bent down to kiss the princess, but was stopped with a finger.

"Dude, what are you, a human fountain?" Princess Annie smirked, and rolled her body away from him.

"Go away, you rabbit."

Another heart was broken.

* * *

><p>Princess Annie was quite frustrated.<p>

She had broken two men's hearts, that was true, but…but…another one just ditched her and the shorty married off with her maid! A maid! And he didn't even glance at her! She was seriously wondering if she would be able to get a husband this way. Maybe she would just live alone all her life and die without ever kissing a man.

"It's okay, sweetie. They say that…eh, the fifth time's the charm?" Her mother soothed her.

"But it would be alright if you just lived, you know, as a virgin forever."

"Mom!"

"Oh, the fifth prince arrived~. Good luck with him, dear! Remember, fifth time's the charm!"

Annie rolled her eyes and huffed back to bed.

* * *

><p><strong>Prince Number Five: Prince Armin from Charmingville<strong>

Prince Armin's history went very, very far.

His great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was the famous Prince Charming, who married the infamous Snow White. Then, his son, Prince Charming the Second, married Cinderarmin, whom his name came from. And then, his son, Prince Charming the Third married Rapunzel, and so on. Armin was sent for a quest to marry a princess who was involved in magic or some kind of fairy tale, and his smart mind told him that the princess was his best bet. So here he was, knocking onto an unknown princess' door, about to kiss somebody he just met and didn't know at all.

"I'm going in." He called, even though he knew that it was unneeded. There was only an asleep princess in the room, right? He pushed the door open and walked in, careful to shut the door behind him. He approached the princess and was actually awed.

"Wow," He whispered, "She's actually very beautiful…look at her golden locks of hair, so fine yet so vibrant…look at her full, red lips, as glossy as a cherry! And see how pale and long her fingers are; absolute perfection. She is an angel; she is a goddess."

And now, Annie, pretending to sleep under the covers, was quite pleased. For she had never heard such an illustrative description of her beauty; and never quite only out of awe either. And she did crack open her eyes a bit and saw that, much to her delight, that this prince was actually pretty cute. So she closed her eyes back and patiently waited for the kiss to come.

"But she's such perfection; should I, such a lowly human being, be allowed to kiss her? To touch her porcelain skin, to finger her golden hair, to fall in love with her? No, she deserves someone better than me. I will leave with a broken heart, but also with joyous mind, for I have seen perfection."

And with that, he left the bed and began walking toward the door, shutting the door behind him. Annie, sitting up now and staring after him with puzzlement and bewilderment, slowly processed what just happened.

"What. The. F***."

And from that day on, Annie gave up on meeting man by pretending to be asleep and just decided to live alone forever.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What? Did you expect Armin to kiss the princess, or at least for the princess to chase after Armin? No, Annie's too lazy for that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and your opinions are greatly appreciated!**


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